Singer Khánh Ly, renowned among local and global aficionados as the best singer of Trịnh Công Sơn music, is likely to have her very first performance in Việt Nam 37 years after leaving the country as she has received a license from the Vietnamese Department of Performing Arts.

The department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has licensed Khánh Ly, and Bằng Kiều, another famous singer in the pre-2000s and who now resides in the US, to perform in Việt Nam from now until the year’s end.

The future show will also mark the 50th anniversary of the singing career of Ly, 67, who was known as the “barefoot queen,” when singing songs of composer Trịnh Công Sơn in the 1960s.

The application for her performing license in Việt Nam has “come under strict and careful consideration,” said Deputy Minister Vương Duy Biên.

“For renowned figures like Khánh Ly and Bằng Kiều, a long review over their performing activities should be taken into consideration before such an important decision is issued,” he told Tuổi Trẻ.

The decision was made in a bid to show the government’s open policy in welcoming overseas artists who wish to return to their homelands to perform for their countrymen, he added.

The license is valid by the end of December, and producers of any further shows should again apply for another license.

Biên said it is the case of “a good beginning makes a good ending.”

“The initial decision is the toughest.

Artists just need to perform well in their first returning, and the procedures will be much simpler in the following cases,” he said.

He reiterated the cases of composer Phạm Duy, and singers Tuấn Ngọc, Elvis Phương, Hương Lan, and Chế Linh, who have also returned to the country, and some even settled down.

But Biên refused to elaborate on what songs Khánh Ly and Bằng Kiều will bring on stage, because he is no longer working at the performing arts department.

Sources said the show producers have applied for licenses for 24 songs to be played at the events.

He also added that no official shows of Khánh Ly and Bằng Kiều have been confirmed, so it’s too early to discuss the songs.